OUT OF CATCHMENT AREA

NEW SERVICE STARTS 5TH JANUARY 2009: 

As we are all aware, the Brixworth and Kingsthorpe areas fall outside the contracted bus routes managed by the County Council and therefore parents of out of catchment students remain responsible for arranging transport for their children.  However, please be assured that we do try to offer support with this.

Since September we have tried to provide a service using buses run by Judges – one is on  a public service route and the other is an extra bus provided to cope with the large numbers of students.  These arrangements have not proved very satisfactory as the buses often arrive late in the afternoons and have, on occasions, been unreliable.  Students currently have a very long wait after the end of the school day and despite requests it has not been possible to bring the departure time forward.
School staff have been investigating an alternative bus service and from the start of next term, January 4th, it is planned that Hamiltons will provide a coach which will cover the Brixworth and Kingsthorpe routes.  Pick up times are set out below.  The coach will pick up at Brixworth first in the morning and come into Kingsthorpe on the A508 Harborough Road, then turn and pick up on the Welford Road and go along the A5199 to Guilsborough, also picking up in Chapel Brampton.  Please note, the bus will not start from Northampton Bus Station, nor take students further than the Welford Road in Kingsthorpe  in the afternoon.  In the afternoon the coach will do the reverse journey, coming into Kingsthorpe on the A5199 then going out to Brixworth on the A508.  We are currently asking students which bus stops they use and Hamiltons will accommodate these within their schedule.

In order for the route to be viable for the bus contractor, the cost for this service will be £3 per day – there will be no single journey fares.
We feel that the service negotiated with Hamiltons will mean a shorter waiting time in the afternoons and provide a more reliable service, with students being able to wait safely in the coach park for their bus.  The Judges service bus will continue to run according to their schedule for any students needing to go to the Northampton Bus Station.  Alternatively students may wish to catch a local service bus from where they are dropped off on the Welford Road, to wherever they need to go to in Northampton.

All students will be expected to adhere to the Northamptonshire County Council Code of Conduct.  In the event of any unacceptable behaviour on the coach, the driver will report this to the coach operator and the school and steps will be taken to deal with the matter which may involve banning the relevant student from travelling on the coach.

When we have final details of all the bus stops, we will put the information on the website. We feel that this will be a significant improvement and hope that it will be sufficiently supported to ensure its viability. If you wish to speak to the contractor about this service, please contact Mr Minesh Uka at Hamiltons Coaches on 01536 772268, or contact Mrs Pollard at school by email:  pollard@guilsborough.northants.sch.uk

Judges Mini Coaches will continue to run a public service bus at the same times as have been operating during the autumn of 2009.  This service will start and end at Northampton Bus Station.

Concessionary Bus Passes
A concessionary bus pass is one which is allocated by the County Council to a student who lives outside the catchment area, for a place on a bus which picks up from within the catchment area.  This is only issued if there is spare  capacity on the appropriate bus – bus numbers are not finalised for a couple of weeks into the autumn term as sixth formers are entitled to places before out of catchment students.  If parents wish to apply for a concessionary bus pass please see the County Council website: http://www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/en/councilservices/EducationandLearning/Parents/travel/Pages/HtoS.aspx